The
Icelandic horse is about 14 hands high, sturdy, wide chested, has a long,
thick mane, tail, and forelock, and comes in 42 color combinations. It is
also called a pony. It may live to the age of 40.

Any horse can walk, trot or
canter, but the Icelandic horse has two extra gaits: the tolt and the
flying pace. The tolt is a fast walk that doesn’t jog the rider around
like the trot. In flying pace the front and hind legs on the same side
move together. Vikings brought these horses to Iceland in their longships
about 1100 years ago.